Lincoln class of '55 comes back for more

S.F. SCHOOLS

Published 6:35 pm, Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Bruce Schroffel, now an actor in Los Angeles, points to a table of fellow alumni during the annual gathering of the Lincoln High Class of '55 Men's Club.

Bruce Schroffel, now an actor in Los Angeles, points to a table of fellow alumni during the annual gathering of the Lincoln High Class of '55 Men's Club.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 2 of 5

Buena Vista waitress Katherine Dawson, also a Lincoln High alumni, gets a laugh from Bill Dittman (blue sweater) as she waits on a group of 1955 graduates. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School class of 1955 gather every year to talk about the past and pass the hat for their alma mater Thursday December 20, 2012. less

Buena Vista waitress Katherine Dawson, also a Lincoln High alumni, gets a laugh from Bill Dittman (blue sweater) as she waits on a group of 1955 graduates. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 3 of 5

Bruce Schroffel (right) and Bill Dittman (center) listen to a story by Doug McLendon at the Buena Vista bar before the luncheon. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School class of 1955 gather every year to talk about the past and pass the hat for their alma mater Thursday December 20, 2012. less

Bruce Schroffel (right) and Bill Dittman (center) listen to a story by Doug McLendon at the Buena Vista bar before the luncheon. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School class of 1955 gather every ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 4 of 5

Herman Cohan (foreground in blue sweater) laughs as Bill Dittman tells a story at the luncheon. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School class of 1955 gather every year to talk about the past and pass the hat for their alma mater Thursday December 20, 2012. less

Herman Cohan (foreground in blue sweater) laughs as Bill Dittman tells a story at the luncheon. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School class of 1955 gather every year to talk about the past and ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 5 of 5

Don Oldham gets plenty of laughs as he talks about the past year at the luncheon in Belvedere. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School class of 1955 gather every year to talk about the past and pass the hat for their alma mater Thursday December 20, 2012. less

Don Oldham gets plenty of laughs as he talks about the past year at the luncheon in Belvedere. A group of school chums from the Lincoln High School class of 1955 gather every year to talk about the past and ... more

The seniors put on a show to raise money for prom, and it was a big honor to be named a traffic boy for the middle school. The students started school together in kindergarten and went to the same schools through graduation day. More than a couple had crushes on Stephanie.

They gathered to go swimming at the Sutro Baths or the shiver-inducing, seawater-fed Fleishhacker Pool. When they got thirsty, they all knew they could get a bottle of beer - or 10 - at Yee Jun, a basement restaurant in Chinatown. Gas on 19th Avenue was 13 cents a gallon, and crime was mostly associated with cigarettes and cheap alcohol, although the real tough guys bought switchblades in the Mission.

One by one, the memories flowed from the Lincoln High Class of '55 Men's Club - a group that gathers every December to eat, drink, recount the occasional off-color joke and reminisce of a San Francisco and high school that look a lot different now.

They are all now 75, give or take a year. Most retired. Some of their classmates are dead. Some nearly so.

Yet each year, those "on the right side of the soil" return, 36 years in a row. The first reunion drew 11 classmates. This year, almost 40 gathered at the San Francisco Yacht Club luncheon.

"I think it's the stories that bring us back," said Bruce Schroffel, 75, a retired Madison Avenue adman and now an actor in Los Angeles. "We all know there's something special about doing this every year."

Every year without women.

Wives 'bored to death'

Only once, about 10 years ago, wives and female classmates were invited.

"It was viewed as a disaster," Schroffel said.

"They were bored to death," said Doug McLendon. "They didn't find us as amusing as we find ourselves."

As the annual gathering started to be about more than the past, the decided to do something for the future.

Some years ago, they started passing the hat for a Class of '55 Men's Club scholarship for Lincoln students.

They decided the winners should need the money and that they should be "slightly above average," just like the guys giving the money, Schroffel said with a smile.

And the students can buy "books or beer." No strings attached, the men said.

They've raised nearly $70,000 over the years, doling out $1,500 to $2,000 to each winner.

To be sure, the students and the school looks a lot different than when they were there.

Some things still same

On tours, they have been amazed at the computer rooms and the classes offered - architecture and economics along with algebra. They read bulletin boards with flyers recruiting for dragon boat racing or announcing that the gay club is meeting Friday, Schroffel said.

And yet, some things never change.

There is still no parking to be found around the school. Kids are still worried about getting into college. They're still looking for a date for prom.

And then they graduate. Get jobs. Marry. Have kids. Get older.

And if they're lucky, they will drive from Washington or Sonoma or San Jose, fly in from Montana, Wyoming or Los Angeles once a year to be with old friends.

They will talk about the price of a gallon of gas, who was all-state in swimming, and where they bought beer when they were still under drinking age. They will laugh, backslap, tell bawdy jokes and maybe ask about grandchildren or that new hip.

At some point, they will raise a glass of wine for those on the wrong side of the soil, eat some cake, pay the bar bill and say, "See ya next year."

In between, a few could die, but most will be back. They wouldn't miss it.

Hanging on to friends

Rich Storkek, a Mill Valley architect, surveyed the room of old friends, guys he's known for a hard-to-believe 70 years.

Some look better than others, he said. And then he smiled.

"I tell my grandchildren: You gather up your circle of friends and hang on to them."

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